Image artifacts caused by camera motion are a common problem in photography. At least two kinds of undesirable artifacts can occur.
When camera motion occurs during the exposure of a photograph, the resulting photograph can be blurred because each point on the recording medium receives light from many scene locations during the exposure. This blurring can be minimized by taking photographs using very short exposure times, but this may not be possible in all conditions. A “fast” lens, that is, a lens that has a large aperture for light collection, can enable short exposure times, but such lenses are often bulky and expensive.
The second artifact is especially troublesome in video photography, in which a sequence of images is taken. Camera motion may cause the camera to be aimed in different directions for successive frames. Even if the individual video frames are not blurry, the resulting video sequence may “jitter” or appear “jumpy” when replayed. Of course, both blur and jitter can occur together.
Some cameras or lenses include sensors for characterizing camera motion and mechanisms for moving an optical component so as to counteract the effects of camera motion. However, these systems are often expensive and complex.
Often, a camera user attempts to avoid motion artifacts by holding the camera still using a tripod or other device, or by mounting the camera on a fixed object. However, in some cases even a fixed object is subject to vibration that can result in image blur, jitter, or both. For example, a surveillance camera mounted on a light pole may vibrate dramatically during windy weather, resulting in degradation of photos or video taken by the camera.